(Ban zhi lian; Barbat scullcap)
An important restorative remedy for the nervous system used in Chinese medicine to treat anxiety, depression, migraines and insomnia. It is also commonly used to reduce inflammation. It has been shown to have powerful anticancer properties with great promise. It attacks cancer cells without damaging healthy cells, quite unlike most chemotherapy drugs in use today. The American company, Bionova, is developing a drug derived from this herb for the treatment of advanced breast cancer and pancreatic cancer and the company has already completed early clinical trials. Attractive purple flowers. Ht. 15-30cm/6-12"